Abstract:

The world has become saturated with information, changing rapidly and in many ways unpredictably. Routine work is being automated, professions are disappearing and emerging, communication formats between citizen and state, worker and employer are changing, and the internet and social media are expanding professional opportunities and boundaries of everyday life. The education model, in which the student is focused on memorising the right decisions and then applying them throughout his or her life, has ceased to work. You can't "learn the words" beforehand - you have to be able to keep refreshing your skills.
In developing the new model of higher education, international organisations and individual countries focus on two key issues: what should be the modern content of education and what competencies a university graduate should possess. Of course, there is also the question of 'how': what pedagogical practices and learning experiences will be most productive for students' quality perception of subject content and for shaping the necessary competencies - how to form such experiences and how to assess learning outcomes.
The research article presents the results of a study of educators and parents on pedagogical practices and expectations from universities. The aim of this study was to find out to what extent Russian teachers work in the paradigm of "active learner" and how they perceive the task of developing "21st century skills" and to what extent their views coincide with those of parents.

The study relies on three sources of data.
1. Teachers' E-questionnaire survey.
2. Focus groups with teachers (5 focus groups of 8-12 people each).
3. Parents' E-questionnaire survey.

We are aware of the questionnaire limitations when teachers describe their own pedagogical practices and attitudes and the options we suggested. Certainly, more accurate and objective results could be obtained through video observation. Nevertheless, the results obtained seem to be very important as they are a focused analysis of Russian teachers' perceptions of "21st century skills".

The study revealed the systemic shifts and deficits in understanding the challenges of contemporary higher education.
1. Educators are focused on subject knowledge, and this focus has not yet been extended to include the tasks of developing thinking or communication skills.
2. Some educators believe that thinking skills cannot be developed ("it is an innate ability").
3. The task of developing 21st century skills is unevenly distributed across subjects and the potential of some subjects is not used.
4. Practices that promote communication and learning skills are more frequently used by older teachers. This is a very risky situation, given that older teachers will gradually leave and current young teachers will become the majority.
5. There is a misunderstanding of what a 'project activity' is: it is either a nice work by instruction or a research project (with emphasis on science). Teachers do not accept the project as a group work of exploratory nature.
6. Assessment is seen as a control tool, but not as a tool that can help improve students' learning experiences and stimulate their own learning activities.
7. Any change in HEIs is only sustainable and productive when the expectations of parents and teachers (state and employers) coincide - that is, when all stakeholders strive for the same goal.

Keywords:

21st century skills, russian teachers, teachers’ attitudes, instructional practices, parental expectations for universities.